She learned well from her parents. When she misbehaved there were consequences, when she did well she was rewarded. Her siblings, all different personalities, taught her about diversity. She was patient and quiet with them, ever observant and when she wanted something was able to get it without a lot of fanfare. She moved in with a new family when she was 12-weeks-old and by one-year-old I discovered that she had a natural knack for leading a pack. She could read subtle body language, such as a tail erect, back hair on-end, two bodies doing a slow, calculated dance like two boxers ready to …

Causes Of Dog Behavior As a dog trainer for over 20 years I have worked with hundreds of dogs and their owners.  One common misconception is that people think a dog behaves a certain way because of either the dog’s breed, his past or his current environment.  It is usually never just one thing that makes a dog what he is, but a combination of a lot of different things. Inherited Temperaments and Environment Let me explain further.  Within every breed there are different temperaments that are inherited.  Further, the pup’s early socialization (or lack of) and the dog’s past and current …

Over the past decade there has been more publicity regarding people who are dubbed, “hoarders.” There are animal hoarders as well as hoarders of all kinds of other objects, even garbage. There are now numerous television shows about hoarding such as, Confessions: Animal Hoarding on Animal Planet. But hoarding is not a new thing and it is a very serious problem. The Daily Herald recently reported that the village of Vernon Hills is attempting to access a woman's home because neighbors have been complaining of cat odors coming from the house. In 2004, the woman had roughly 130 cats removed from…

This morning I was in the kitchen sipping on coffee and flipping through channels on the television.  I stopped on the Animal Planet channel and a funny, home video-type show.  But what I was about to see I didn’t find funny at all. In the video, there was a big black Labrador and a child that couldn’t have been older than one-and-a half.  While the narrator blabbed a scripted play-by-play, the child grabbed a hold of the dog’s tail and yanked.  Canned laughter erupted.  The dog looked back and licked the child’s face and the laughter became louder.  Then the child proceeded to walk around …

Every month volunteers of Animal Education and Rescue (AEAR) bring dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and even rats to visit the residents of Manor Care nursing home located at 1500 S. Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville. Volunteers have been going there for eight years and the residents love it.  As the founder of AEAR I am so proud of that program because I know it positively impacts many, many people. But since I personally started going with animals to nursing homes way back in 1992, pet therapy programs have become a widely accepted form of therapy. According to www.healthline.com, “Animal …

A few years ago a volunteer for my humane society was walking Truman, a 75-pound mix breed dog I was fostering for Animal Education and Rescue, a Libertyville based humane society. During the walk Truman got spooked by something, backed out of his collar, took off down the street and was out of sight.  Immediately after receiving the call that Truman was missing I notified the police and Lake County Animal Control. I printed flyers and a half a dozen volunteers began canvassing Libertyville with flyers in hand. We stopped everyone we saw and handed them flyers.  Three hours after Truman …

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, which was started by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). This year marks 145 years that the society has been fighting animal cruelty. Throughout April, ASPCA is urging supporters across the country to show support by donning orange for animals. As a licensed humane investigator I have seen some horrific things; animals beaten, thrown out of their homes to starve to death and dogs left on chains to live isolated, miserable lives outside. By understanding the laws that protects animals I am able to help to …

Since starting Animal Education and Rescue, a Lake County humane society, I have been privy to many amazing miracles. I write about many of them in my book, The Animal Warrior. It was right here in Libertyville that one such thing happened that left me feeling in awe of yet another miracle. It is very unusual to see stray dogs in Libertyville so when I received a call about one, I was surprised. The caller said that the dog had been hanging around the blocks around her house for at least two weeks. She insisted that no one around there owned the dog. Learning About the Dog “Does the dog have …

Finally the snowy, icy, slippery winter weather has passed and walking - my favorite past time and preferred exercise, stands before me like a gold-laden path. But walks would not be complete without a leash wrapped around my wrist and one of my dogs leading the way. Living in Libertyville, I must say means I am blessed with endless places for my dogs and I to explore.  Downtown Libertyville is filled with great sights and smells for both my dogs and I.  Walking the length of Milwaukee Avenue window-shopping can be quite stimulating. Aromatic restaurants speckle the main drag of Milwaukee …